So, St. Louis County and the City of St. Louis are separate political entities. St. Louis is an independent city with its own government that is bordered in all directions either by St. Louis County or the Mississippi River. St. Louis County consists of the suburbs of the city of St. Louis (county seat Clayton). Baltimore is a similar situation. There is Baltimore County (county seat Towson) and Baltimore City, which are completely separate entities that stupidly share a common name.
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